Unataka Matunda

We love the kitchen in our new home. The bananas were a gift from a Mission Conference Rick did in a rural community near Mount Kenya. So was the “hat” Josiah’s wearing. Meru pineapples are delicious. We’ll have to wait for the bananas to ripen to see about them. Would you like some fruit?

Our Kenyan Connection

No one is more responsible for our Kenyan connection than Hannah Wanjiku. She visited St. Paul UMC in Gulf Breeze when she was a frail little girl of 4 years. She not only captured Rick’s heart, but in her eyes, he saw Jesus calling him to Africa. Hannah was 8 years old by the time Rick arrived in the orphanage in 1989. Now she herself is an English teacher, but dreams of becoming a journalist. We are very proud of this young lady. She told Rick that when she finds a suitable husband, she’s bringing him to ask for his approval. She sure knows how to get us in her prayer corner!

Thank You God for a Bigger Home

A house came available on the same street with a good deal more living space so we moved on February 1 (Yes we moved again!) On the same day, Nereah (center row far right) and her family were forcefully evicted from her home of 20 years in Ruiru by mobs of tribal thugs. There are perhaps over 300,000 refugees in Kenya due to the post election crisis. Nereah and her family will be moving back near Kisumu, where she has family. We don’t know what will become of her furniture and business that she had to abandon. Yet in the midst of the insecurity and uncertainties, it’s amazing how God unites us as family. Nereah worked with Debra and I at the Spirit of Faith Orphanage and is the Aunt of Michael Agwanda, another missionary with the Mission Society.

Long Food Lines as the Crisis Deepens

The clergy network Rick’s been working with helped organize food distribution with the United Nations and Red Cross. All these people came by invitation only through local churches in the Kibera slums. 2,000 people waited under a hot tropical sun for up to 9 hours to get food. Water had to be carried around the lines because no one wanted to loose their place in line. We moved among them assuring them to lesson the threat of panic. It was a loooong day for all involved.

2000 allotments of Grain and Other Food distributed by Hand

Pastor Eric, a Kibera pastor with the clergy network, with the other aid workers went non stop from 6:30 am to 3:00 pm loading sacks with grain, peas, cooking oil, and flour. They worked furiously hard because the threat of panic, tired, hungry people in long lines wondering if they would get a share. These aid workers had nothing but a cup of water the whole day. Some like Eric didn’t even receive an allotment of food because we ran so low towards the end of the distribution.

"Heading" the groceries back to Kibera

Each allotment given on this day was roughly enough to feed a family of 6 for a week. All during this day, we had huge crowds of people gathering at the gates pleading for food. After the post election violence most of the stores and shops in Kibera were destroyed. The threat of violence caused many people to be too afraid to leave the slums or even their homes for many days. Consequently, their were hundreds of thousands of hungry people. Distribution to the most vulnerable -- women, children, and disabled became a grave concern. Fortunately things are beginning to rebound.

Political Crisis in Kenya

The political crisis in Kenya is a direct result of a spiritual and social conflict rooted in tribal tensions and decades of unresolved issues. The American Ambassador reminded me on the local news that we Americans went through a similar crisis when Martin Luther King was assassinated in the late 60’s. As we learned through the unresolved social issues of the 60’s, societies are deeply injured by ethnic tensions and avoidance only compounds the issues. Kenya's church leaders believe that the current social political conflict is rooted in spiritual problems. They believe Kenya is in need of reconciliation to end tribal tensions, restore confidence and peace in communities that are shared by many tribal groups..